Invitation to 'unauthorized' gathering Wednesday in Long Beach prompts officials to block access

Long Beach city officials warned partygoers and residents to stay away from a section of the beach Wednesday where an unknown online organizer announced a gathering.

In a note on city social media pages, officials said they were working to block access to the beach and cancel an “unauthorized beach gathering promoted on social media planned for this afternoon at Long Beach Boulevard.”

City officials urged residents to stay away from that section of the beach on Wednesday “out of an abundance of caution.”

Later Wednesday afternoon, Long Beach city officials said that it appeared the crowd had been deterred from coming, although police were continuing to monitor the beach through the evening.

Long Beach City Manager Daniel Creighton said that the city filed an emergency restraining order in court Wednesday to prevent the large gathering.

Creighton said any gathering of 100 people or more is illegal and requires a permit. The beach remained open during regular hours Wednesday.

Long Beach police and Nassau County detectives also went to the homes of organizers identified behind the party to warn them of possible repercussions, city officials said.

The organizers were not identified, and it was unclear if they were based on Long Island or in New York City. 

“Our beach is a gem. We want to make sure it stays a gem so residents can use it and make sure it's not abused,” Creighton said. “We're going to make sure we will stop this from continuing happening. We will do this every time if we have to.”

On Wednesday afternoon, Long Beach and neighboring Jones Beach State Park saw busy crowds with warm weather on the Juneteenth holiday, but there did not appear to be any unauthorized gatherings, officials said.

The invitation to the organized party came nearly a week after more than 2,000 people who gathered for a sunset party and New York City senior high school skip day were escorted off the beach, city officials said. Two people were taken into custody, and one 15-year-old was charged with the shooting of another partygoer, officials said.

The city imposed new restrictions, closing the beach from dusk until dawn, and also moved up beach pass collection, requiring paid beach passes seven days a week effective immediately.

Flyers on social media announced the mass gathering.

“We are taking over NYC, borough by borough,” the flyer said. “We are taking over Juneteenth this year.”

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.